"I don't know who that girl is," said Nat Cole when the voice of Etta James wafted from a jukebox, "but she's one of the finest singers I ever heard." James brings the emotional intensity of gospel and the worldly concerns of rock 'n' roll to classics like "Tell Mama," "I'd Rather Go Blind," "Don't Lose Your Good Thing," "Steal Away," and "Just a Little Bit." "Etta was so incredible," guitarist Jimmy Johnson said of this remarkable session. "She and Aretha both possessed the ability to sing a song immediately. She totally would turn us on in the earphones, and it made us play better. Every note you hear was done with the band live. The band would freeze to death with chill bumps while we were doing it. She was doing a command performance."